Bob Costas to host both primetime and late night for NBC's Sochi Winter Olympics coverage

by jmaloni

Submitted

Wed, Nov 20th 2013 01:50 pm

Costas hosts Olympics in
primetime for record 10th time

NBC Olympics announced today that Bob Costas
will serve as host for NBC's primetime and late night coverage of the 2014
Sochi Winter Games in February 2014.

Costas has served as primetime host for every Olympics
on NBC since 1992, including the 2012 London Games, which was the most-watched
television event in U.S. history with more than 217 million viewers.

With the 2014 assignment, Costas becomes U.S.
television's first 10-time Olympic primetime host (Jim McKay hosted eight times
for ABC). This is the second time Costas will host both the primetime and late
night shows (2000 Sydney Olympics). Costas also served as NBC's late night host
at the 1988 Seoul Olympics

"With unmatched experience in the host chair, Bob's
historical perspective and expertise will serve as a foundation for our Sochi
coverage both in primetime and late night," said Jim Bell,
executive producer of NBC Olympics. "There is no one better than Bob to lead us
in telling the stories of the athletes and competition that captivate fans
around the world."

"The Olympics are a unique television event," Costas
said. "They involve classic sports coverage, of course, but also many elements
of storytelling and travelogue aspects that are not part of the usual sports
broadcast. They are a three-week miniseries which, if done well, should bring
viewers not only compelling athletic performances, but a sense of the host city
and country, and an appreciation of what is a truly global gathering."

A 25-time Emmy Award winner, Costas is one of the most
respected and honored broadcasters of his generation and has handled a wide
array of assignments, including play-by-play, studio hosting and reporting. He
serves as the host of the critically acclaimed and most-watched NFL studio show
"Football Night in America," an exclusive and complete look at each Sunday in the NFL. He also hosted pre-game coverage on NBC for
Super Bowl XLVI, the most-watched program in U.S. television history.

Costas, who has the longest tenure of the network's
sports announcers (34 years), co-hosts NBC's coverage of the Kentucky Derby,
Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. One of America's pre-eminent
interviewers, Costas hosts "Costas Tonight,"
an interview show that airs on NBCSN. He also contributes to a variety of NBC
News programs, including "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams"
and "Today."
He also handles play-by-play duties and is a commentator for MLB Network.